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One in three sentenced had 15 convictions already

Prison cell: familiar to more than 100,000 newly-sentenced criminalsPaul Faith/PA

More than 100,000 criminals sentenced in the courts last year had 15 or more previous convictions or cautions, the Ministry of Justice said yesterday.

The figure represented more than a third of all those sentenced in England and Wales and was the highest on record.

Iain Bell, chief statistican at the ministry, said: “The proportion of offenders who are either cautioned or convicted, who have 15 or more previous convictions, is rising. It has been an ongoing increase over the last few years.”

The figures show that the proportion with 15 convictions or cautions has risen from almost 18 per cent of those sentenced in 2001 to 31.2 per cent in 2011.

For those given immediate jail terms the proportion was even higher, at 44…